In a conventional multi-processor computer system, multiple node controllers are connected by an interconnection network and communicate among each other over such network. Each node controller manages memory in a region of the computer system's address space, interfaces with attached processors, provides a port to communicate with attached input/output devices, and includes a network interface to provide communications with the interconnection network. The multi-processor computer system may be configured to have separate kernel partitions. When passing critical kernel data between separate kernel partitions, the directory in one partition may contain references to nodes in another partition. Thus, a failure of one partition may cause a failure in another partition. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a technique to manage node controllers in a manner that improves reliability without causing failures in adjacent partitions.